Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand with Bertrand Chamayou and Lorenzo Viotti

Season opening with Lorenzo Viotti

In his first concert of the season, chief conductor Lorenzo Viotti leads the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and French pianist Bertrand Chamayou in Ravel's 'Piano Concerto for the Left Hand'. The composer wrote the work for pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the First World War. The fear and threat of that war is palpable in Ravel's catchy music. In addition to this war work, the compelling 'Sinfonia da Requiem' by Britten, Tchaikovsky's stormy fantasy overture to 'The Tempest' by Shakespeare and Rachmaninoff's introspective and mysterious 'Island of the Dead' will also be performed.

Bertrand Chamayou plays Ravel

The Guardian praises the French pianist Bertrand Chamayou for his rich, sonorous sound and formidable playing. At the same time, with his latest prize-winning recording of Messiaen's 'Vingt Regards', he is a warm advocate of French twentieth-century music. It is precisely this combination that makes him the perfect soloist for Ravel's masterpiece, which has both introspective poetry and virtuoso driving energy. He takes up Ravel's challenge with conviction - with only one hand.